The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-01-14
DYSPEPTICS' FOOD.
A PHYSICIAN THINKS COMMON
SENSE IS THE BEST GUIDE.

A Chapter of Chat on Eating-Eyery
Person should He Guided by His Own
Experienced Popular DeIusion-yIod-
Grafton.
"As with reading, with eating. 1t is not
what person reads or eats that benefits him;
it is what he digests."
This was am eminent psychologists reply to
a reporters questionings this morning, when
approaced on the subject of that great Amer
lean complaint
"In the matter of Diet he said every
person should be guided by his own expert
ence, and not rely on the experience of Others.
l know a newspaper man III this city who
lives on brown bread and apples and drinks
nothing but water, and there is no man of
my acquaintance who enjoys more robust or
perfect health. l have heard also of u COM
poser and dramatic author Whose favorite
dish is a compound of potato, oatmeal and
Spanish onion, ON which he thrives and does
much good work"
Richard A Proctor, the astronomer, suf-
fered for many years with sick headaches,
and after trying every remedy under the sun
he set to work experimenting upon himself.
Exercise or rest had no effect upon his mall
ady. They availed him nothing against per-
sistent attacks. Then he tried stopping his
customary glass of wine or beer, which he
took with his dinner. THIS produced no
change. Pastry was next taken off his foct
list, and he seemed to be benefited by the
omission Then he cut down on his tea and
coffee. Still he did not get the desired relief.
Finally he stopped taking sugar in his drink,
but the effect of this abstinence was unfavor-
able. At last he determined to let butter
alone. The effect of this change was instan-
taneous and decisive. He had no more head
aches, and TO this day you cannot prevail
upon him To eat butter or anything that he
knows contains the article.
CONSULTING A PHYSICIAN.
TO consult physician in matters pertain
ing To diet, except in conditions of disease, is
useless While one will tell you to abstain
from certain things, another will advise you
To eat only those things which the other ones
have denied 10 you. Take cheese, for ex-
ample Most authorities are of the opinion
that it is not easily digested. l do not be-
leve 1T Is any more indigestible than meat
and many other articles of food Suppers
are, rule, condemned by the medical
fraternity. They assert that late meals are
not only unnecessary, but positively harmful.
To my mind, i do not believe that a man who
goes to bed hungry can sleep. After eating,
blood Is drawn toward the stomach to supply
the juices needed in digestion. Thus the
brain Is relieved of the pressure exerted on
its centers during the hours of fasting, and
becomes pale and dormant, and sleep ensues.
"A doctor was once called to attend lady
at an early hour in the morning, whom, he
was assured, was in dying condition
When he reached her bedside he found the
body warm and the heart doing honest work
He prescribed buttered toast, to be eaten at
once, ami the dying woman was soon sur
Milk, regarded by most people as a perfect
food, and said To be natures own provision
for animal life, is to my mind a most mis-
Chievous drink. For those who have at
tanned their full growth and can thrive ON
solid food. milk is altogether superfiuous, if
not harmful The principal object of drink
ing is to allay thirst. What can be found
more desirable tn this end than water when
employed free from admixture with any
solid material, Cocoa, chocolate, or even
milk are not near eficacious in allaying
thirst as water.
POPULAR DELUsIoN
1T is popular delusion that dyspepsia is
caused by eating indigestible food only If
this were SO, and all the articles of diet emu
merated as indigestible were placed on the
index expurgatorius, tremble to think what
the poor dyspeptic would have left to live ON.
The first essential toward regaining health to
he noted by dyspeptic is to live regularly
and abstain from all those foods that expert
ence shows are injurious. Many persons who
are supposed to have heart disease an en-
larged liver or softening of the brain are
really hypochondriac dyspeptics. Often
times such persons have their worst fears
realized by consulting some medical encyclo-
padia. | know of no more pitiable object
than the young man or woman who reads up
for the purpose of iinding out from what
complaint he or she is suffering.
When you are i'll go at once to a physician
instead of a book, and when he tells YOU you
are suffering from an attack of dyspepsia aid
him in his work of repair by following his
directions 10 the letter and remember his all
vice as 10 what YOU shall eat and drink. BY
doing this You will have little need to con-
suit numerous books and make "A note of the
delightfully."- conflicting paragraphs in the
household column of the daily papers in order
to avoid a recurrence of the same complaint
Moderation is good thing To observe, not
only in what you eat, but as to when you eat
Choose the food and drink that will best fill
your stomach, and partake of such quantities
can be easily digested. The age, condition
and business OF a must also be consid-
cred, and none are more capable of determin-
ing how much, when and what To eat than
the individual most interested-New YORK
Mail and Express.